blonde poker

For those of you who aren’t already aware, although I can’t see how that would be possible considering Colchester Kev's (left) endless witterings, there’s been a minor shindig in Singapore this year in the form of the Betfair Asian Poker Tour.

With names such as Tony G, Bengt Sonnert, Mel Judah, Martin de Kniff and Gus Hansen all showing their faces, the festival was undoubtedly heading for success.

And whilst there was the usual sea of recognisable mugs, there were also a few familiar blondeites making their presence known too. Well, I say a few, but in fact there was a whole host of them. At the risk of sounding cliquey, here are just a selection of those names. Deep breath now…

Rob ‘RobS’ Sherwood,
Harry Demetriou,
Tim 'T8mml' Blake,
Willie Tann,
James ‘Royal Flush’ Dempsey,
Martin ‘RoyCropper’ Green,
Ken ‘kpnuts’ Powell,
Mark ‘kinghawko’ Hawkins,
Michael ‘micky147’ Herron,
Dave ‘Dubai’ Shallow,
Kevin 'Colchester Kev' Shepherd,
Xuyen ‘Bad Girl’ Vladar
Jeff ‘Jaffacake’ Kimber

313 players, a good mix of ‘names’, blondeites and local players, a 450k first prize – crikey, this was shaping up to be one hell of an Event and sure enough, it delivered… by the bucket loads.

Glancing back up at that list of blondeites, take the last name – Jeff Kimber. ‘Jaffacake’, as he is more commonly know at online cardrooms and on the blonde forum, is perhaps one of the most underrated players in the UK. He plays quietly and wins quietly, quite often passing underneath the radar without so much as a murmur, but scooping all our money in the process.

Looking at his record, Jeff has won in excess of 350k in prize money and is quite the International star, earning spondoolies from Spain, the Caribbean, England, America, Turks and Caicos Islands and now Singapore! I guess Jeff should go abroad more often.

Of course, his latest cash was last night at the Meritus Mandarin Hotel in Singapore, a rather tasty $87,400 for his 5th place finish in the Main Event.

Considering the field, that placing was a cracking achievement, even for a player of the calibre of Jeff. Just one look at the final table would be enough to unnerve the coolest of customers: renowned motormouth and former blondepoker colleague, Tony G, Aussie Poker Millions winner for 2006 and co-writer of highly acclaimed  poker publication ‘Kill Phil’, Lee Nelson and Irish Poker Tour Grand Final winner for 2006, Brendan Walls. Eek, run for the hills!

A sizzling final table, but one that was eventually won by someone who many consider to be a true Marmite character, Tony G. Never afraid to make his voice heard, Tony really is one of those characters who people either love or hate, but whether you’re his biggest fan or greatest enemy, no one can deny his talent for the game, and this was once again proven last night half way across the globe.

Heading into the final day, he was second in chips, just behind Swede Samuel Lehtonen. But, after the infamous Tony G trash talk got underway, the Australian moved into 5th gear, eliminating opponent after opponent before finally seeing off Singapore resident Joshua Pang LengAng with T-6 versus A-J on a Ten high flop.

But for all those who doubt the integrity of Tony G, then your eyes may widen when you hear that he gave away half of his winnings to charity, and then donated his trophy to his Singapore runner-up.

 

After the Event, Tony said, “I want people to know that poker is sport. This is not a large amount compared to what people like Bill Gates give to charity but it is a gesture to show that it’s not all about the money, it’s about the competition as well.”

Like so many others, I am yet to quite work Tony G out, and I seriously doubt that anyone ever will. But what I will say is that whilst I sometimes question his table etiquette, I applaud his natural talent and will always respect the skill he has for the game. I don’t think I stand alone on those thoughts…


[Ed Note: Click here for the final results of this event]